Cleanup begins after mold was discovered at Indiana University dorm building
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — The cleanup continues at Indiana University after officials discovered mold in one of the dorm buildings on campus.
The university notified residents last month about plans to clean and replace hundreds of moldy convector units, where hot and cold air comes into the rooms at McNutt Hall in Bloomington
Some residents told 24-Hour News 8 the mold problem is so bad everyone they know is getting sick. But the university said it checked the mold level and determined students could stay in their rooms during the cleanup.
“My parents flipped out, they were so mad about the situation so they were calling every director on campus trying to get it taken care of as soon as possible,” said Jessica Monberg, freshman. “Because they didn’t want me being sick any longer because it was affecting my grades.”
Monberg and her friends said they are tired of the mess at McNutt Hall.
“If you walk in the building, like it smells musty and moldy like the whole building, so I don’t know what they’re going to do to fix that,” she said.
Olivia Rent said she and her roommate got pretty sick last semester.
“I especially was getting sick last semester. We never really pinpointed why and then this year, as soon as we got back to school, my roommate got an upper respiratory infection and is still being affected and coughing a lot all the time,” said Rent, freshman.
Issac Peterson said he thought the mold was a joke at first
“I thought oh that can’t happen to me and then I looked in my friends dorm room and saw the disgusting fluffy mold,” he said. “I am actually incredibly unsatisfied with the way they’re handling it.”
The group believes the problem has been going on for quite some time. Monberg said she couldn’t understand why she and others kept getting sick last semester.
“I was super sick last semester like tired all the time coughing like crazy. I was diagnosed with severe bronchitis,” said Monberg. “I was in the hospital for a little bit and I went home and got better and came back and automatically started getting sick again.”
Not sure where the problem was coming from, Monberg said her parents had the university check her room on the third floor.
“My mom asked if they could come in and look at my air vents and they discovered it was covered in mold,” she said.
Monberg shared a picture with 24-Hour News 8 showing the amount of the mold. She said maintenance took the picture last month when they found the mold in the filter of the air vents. Monberg said she checked into a hotel for 10 days.
“I flipped out, that is so disgusting,” she said. “I do not want to be in that room; this is outrageous that I’m paying all this money to be in these dorms that are just filled with mold.”
The university issued a statement:
“Indiana University takes the health and safety of its students seriously and is actively working to address this issue at McNutt Quad. The remediation process has begun and students were provided with a timeline on the overall project as well as information on their individual unit.”
The university said approximately 900 units are affected. Three students reported illnesses and have since been moved to a different room during the cleanup. At this time it’s unclear how long the clean up process will take.